Friday, February 22, 2008

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (February 22, 2008) - The ETSU women's tennis team picked up it's second and third victories of the season on Friday as they defeated UNC Charlotte, 6-1 and Tennessee Tech, 6-1. The Lady Bucs improve to 3-4 on the year, while Charlotte falls to 3-3. The Golden Eagles fall to 1-5 overall.

In their first match of the day held in Bristol, Tenn. against Charlotte, the Lady Bucs took the early 1-0 lead as they took the doubles point. Competing in No. 1 doubles Elena Volobueva (Barcelona, Spain) and Whitney Trotter (Guadalajara, Mexico) dropped Ana Spivakovsky and Koren Fleming, 8-7(5) while Tara Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Tara Sheets (Gate City, Va.) defeated Candace Cunningham and Kimber Redfern, 8-6. The match in the No. 3 position was not contested.

In singles action, Tara Byrne breezed by Koren Fleming, 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 2 position, while Andra Voinea (Brasov, Romania) defeated Kimber Redfern, 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 3 slot. Competing in No. 4 singles, Tara Sheets dropped Candace Cunningham, 6-4, 7-6(4) while Whitney Trotter picked up a victory over Gabi Vergara, 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 5 slot. In the sixth position Vita Moskaliova picked up a point by default. The 49ers earned their lone point when Ana Spivakovsky defeated Olya Batsula in the top position, 7-5, 6-2.

A few hours later, the Lady Bucs took on the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech. In doubles, ETSU claimed the doubles point as Olya Batsula and Andra Voinea breezed by Evgenia Yartseva and Katie Barnhill, 8-1 in the No. 3 position while Tara Byrne and Tara Sheets took down Kelly Holtzhausen and Mireia Cano in the top position. The Lady Bucs made it a sweep as Elena Volobueva and Whitney Trotter closed out a tough match against Kay Ngiam and Diana Woodcock, 8-7 in the No. 2 position.

Competing in the No. 1 singles position junior Tara Byrne defeated Kelly Holtzhausen, 6-3, 6-3, while Andra Voinea cruised past Diana Woodcock, 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 3 position. Junior Vita Moskaliova notched another win for the Lady Bucs as she dropped Evgenia Yartseva, 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 6 position, while Tara Sheets defeated Katie Barnhill, 6-3, 6-3 in the fourth position. With the match already in hand Whitney Trotter defeated Kay Ngiam in the No. 5 position, 6-1, 5-7, 10-4. In the No. 2 slot Olya Batsula fell in a hard fought match to Mireia Cano, 0-6, 6-4, 10-8.

"It was great to be able to play in Bristol this morning. It'd good to be able to play at different places around the Tri-Cities," said head coach Steve Brooks. "I thought the girls played very well today. In the second match they were definitely tired but they continued to fight through it and play very well. Hopefully we'll have a good day off tomorrow and pick up a win on Sunday."

The Lady Bucs will hit the courts again on Sunday as they take on Michigan State on February 24 in Bristol, Tenn. The match is slated to begin at 9 a.m. For all Lady Bucs tennis action visit www.ETSUBucs.com.

ETSU 6, UNCC 1

Singles

No. 1- Ana Spivakovsky (UNCC) def. Olya Batsula (ETSU) 7-5, 6-2

No. 2- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Koren Fleming (UNCC) 6-1, 6-1

No. 3- Andra Voinea (ETSU) def. Kimber Redfern (UNCC) 6-1, 6-1

No. 4- Tara Sheets (ETSU) def. Candace Cunningham (UNCC) 6-4, 7-6(4)

No. 5- Whitney Trotter (ETSU) def. Gabi Vergara (UNCC) 6-3, 6-2

No. 6- Vita Moskaliova (ETSU) won by default

Doubles

No. 1- Volobueva/Trotter (ETSU) def. Spivakovsky/Fleming (UNCC) 8-7(5)

No. 2- Byrne/Sheets (ETSU) def. Cunningham/Redfern (UNCC) 8-6

No. 3- Batsula/Moskaliova (ETSU) won by default

ETSU 6, TTU 1

Singles

No. 1- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Kelly Holtzhausen (TTU) 6-3, 6-3

No. 2- Mireia Cano (TTU) def. Olya Batsula (ETSU) 0-6, 6-4, 10-8

No. 3- Andra Voinea (ETSU) def. Diana Woodcock (TTU) 6-3, 6-1

No. 4- Tara Sheets (ETSU) Katie Barnhill (TTU) 6-3, 6-2

No. 5- Whitney Trotter def. Kay Ngiam (TTU) 6-1, 5-7, 10-4

No. 6- Vita Moskaliova (ETSU) def. Evgenia Yartseva (TTU) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1- Byrne/Sheets (ETSU) def. Holtzhausen/Cano (TTU) 8-5

No. 2- Volobueva/Trotter (ETSU) def. Ngiam/Woodcock (TTU) 8-7

No. 3- Batsula/Voinea (ETSU) def. Yartseva/Barnhill (TTU) 8-1